The Virtual Flute: an advanced fingering guide generated via machine intelligence

Abstract

The Virtual Flute is a web service that provides many thousands of machine-predicted alternative fingerings. Alternative fingerings can offer variations in intonation and timbre, and can be easier to play in different musical contexts. Many play multiphonics. An advanced fingering guide is invaluable when exotic effects and demanding passages are required of the player. The Virtual Flute uses an expert system that predicts musical properties from acoustic impedance spectra. Impedance spectra for the 39,744 acoustic configurations of the flute are generated by a physical model of the instrument, some parameters of which are machine-learned. We report the construction and use of The Virtual Flute (http://www.phys.unsw.edu.au/music/flute/virtual/).

Acknowledgements

We thank Jane Cavanagh, the flutist upon whom the expert system is based, John Tann and Paul Dickens for technical assistance, and Cécile van der Burgh and Caoimhe McMillan, our remaining experimental flutists. This research was supported by the Australian Research Council.

Notes

¹Throughout this paper, impedance is specified on a logarithmic scale: Z(dB) = 20 log₁₀ (|Z|/Pa s m⁻³). Z is a complex quantity, but examination of the phase spectrum gives little extra information (Wolfe et al., 2001a). Consequently, we show only magnitude spectra.

²Flutists write fingerings using the numbers 1, 2, 3 for the keys usually operated by the long fingers of each hand (left given first), Th for the left thumb key, and then individual names for the other keys (such as the D_♯ key). A vertical line separates the two hands.

³Thus the flute is an acoustical waveguide, and many of the techniques developed for waveguide analysis, e.g. in microwaves may be applied. (The use of “waveguide” is distinct from digital waveguide modelling used in synthesis.)